A FLEXIBLE 'phone and book' bus service will soon link the villages of Alfrick, Suckley and Leigh with the Knightwick doctors' surgery.

The new rural bus service will operate five days a week and also connect with main bus route ser- vices to Worcester, Hereford and Bromyard.

"We're really pleased to be able to enhance the bus services in this area. We know there is a demand," said Michelle Jones of the Rural Transport Partnership Office.

The service will start in September with funding coming from the Malvern Matters Rural Bus Challenge, which already supports a number of rural transport initiatives in the Malvern Hills district.

The flexible service will pick people up near their homes and takes them to to the Knightwick surgery and nearby chiropody clinic.

The service will probably be operated by Bromyard Autobus, which currently runs a school bus service in the area. Full details and timetables will be available in August.

Meanwhile, the Sphere evening minibus service, which runs on Fridays and Saturdays taking passengers from Alfrick, Suckley, Lulsley and Leigh into Malvern and Worcester, has seen passenger numbers fall recently.

A publicity drive to encourage more people to use it has been launched, with flyers advertising the bus being put up in public places and distributed to local venues and organisations.

Pat Perks, of the Sphere bus service committee, said: "Some people are using it to enjoy a night out in town without having to take the car, but we need to keep reminding people about it and get more people to use it."